Through Moses, the Jews received from God instructions for the building of the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle), and in it, they placed the Ark of the Covenant that they carried with them until they arrived in the Promised Land. In Jerusalem, they built the Temple — Bet HaMikdash. The First Temple, built-in 957 BCE, was called the Temple of Solomon. From that time, all sacrifices were made exclusively to the temple. Damaged, and repaired several times, this Temple was finally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The construction of the Second Temple was completed in 515 BCE. After much desecration and devastation, major renovation and expansion were carried out under King Herod the Great, and this was also called the Temple of Herod. it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Although some synagogues did exist at the same time as the Temple of Jerusalem, since the time of its destruction, the temple as the holy place has been replaced by the synagogue. This transition from the temple to the synagogue and from the offering of sacrifice to oral prayer was a great turning point in the development of Jewish culture. As long as there was a Temple, only the clergy communicated with God. Now the community of lay people acquired an independent role and a new, collective and direct relationship with God. Although in ruins, the Temple of Jerusalem remains a holy place, and all the synagogues are oriented toward It.
Some of the 613 commandments of the Torah that related to the making of offerings to the temple acquired a new and symbolic form, clearly expressed through feast days. The scrolls of the Torah impart sanctity to the synagogues; without them, they become secular buildings.
